Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The UW-Eau Claire women’s cross country team is ranked No. 5 according to this season’s initial U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) top 35 poll, the organization announced today.

The Blugolds, who took fourth place at last year’s NCAA Championship, open the season Sept. 4 when they host an Alumni/Open meet.

The men also received some recognition as they received votes in the preseason poll.

Friday, August 12, 2011

LAREDO, TX: The Laredo Bucks, of the Central Hockey League, announced Wednesday that they have signed John Kearns for the 2011-2012 season.

John Kearns is 23 years old from Park Ridge, Illinois. Kearns has played the last four seasons for the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire (NCAA III). He also played last season for the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL).

Thursday, July 14, 2011

So it’s been a while since our season ended and I had the intentions of blogging much sooner than July 14th. However, a trip to Florida, taking the GRE, a class, an internship, a job, moving into a new house and a road trip to Okoboji later, I’ve finally gotten the chance to tell you a little story about the day our season ended.

After our season ending loss in the Regional Tournament, a couple of us and our parents decided to go out to eat at Red Robin. Even after crying our eyes out, hugging our teammates and taking 45 minutes to decide where we should eat, we were still feeling a little down. We managed to make it to Red Robin, and forced ourselves to dry our tears so we wouldn’t look like idiots in public. All 25 of us sat down at our tables, parents at one, kids at the other, and it wasn’t even 10 minutes into our conversation when a little girl walked up to our table. She was still wearing her softball uniform from her game earlier that day. She simply said, in a shy 10 year old voice, “do you have any advice for an upcoming softball player?” She was so precious and nervous to talk to us. The look on her face was that as if she were meeting the USA Olympic team. We gave her three tips: “Work Hard, always try your best and most importantly, have fun.” Her smile gleamed from ear to ear, she said thank you, and sat back down at her table.

From that point on, I don’t think we talked anymore about losing. That little girl put us at ease. We laughed, joked around, and joined in with the waitresses in the happy birthday song about 10 times (even the dads sang along!). We then decided to put our brains together and do something special for the little girl, whose name was Emily J We went and got a softball out of one of our cars and asked the waitress for a Sharpie. We all signed the ball and wrote a little message for her on it. When I went over and gave it to her, I swear she had tears in her eyes. Emily thanked us several times and so did her parents. Throughout the dinner we kept glancing over at her. She ate with her fork in one hand, the ball in the other, and refused to put it down. She even had her parents take her picture with it. It was adorable and it made our hearts melt.

Emily, a 10 year old girl, made us all think about what softball is really about that day. It’s not about winning or losing (although I will say winning is wayyyyy more fun!). It’s about taking your dedication to the game, your work ethic, your sweat, your scrapes, your bruises, your tears, your joys, your LOVE for the game, and paying it forward, and passing it on.

This story reminds me of one of my favorite quotes.

“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good.”

I see this quote every day at my internship and it always reminds me of the day at Red Robin. I’m blessed to have had that experience to help me put my frustration and sadness of ending my junior season, into a different and better perspective. Thank you, Emily.I look forward to many more memories as we all will come together one last time for our end of the season banquet in August. This team was so special, and after not having seen several of my teammates since finals week, I’m ecstatic to relive some of our favorite memories from 2011! Thank you again to everyone who was involved in our 2011 season. It was certainly one to remember and one to celebrate.

Monday, May 23, 2011

It was a record breaking week for the UW-Eau Claire men’s and women’s track & field team who competed at the UW-La Crosse Last Chance meet this past Thursday. Jake Zander (sr.-Chippewa Falls McDonell) won the men’s 1500 in a school record time of 3:50.76. The previous record was held by Rich Maleniak who ran 3:51.25 in 2002. Blugold Alum Adam Condit also had a great day finishing 3rd in the men’s 5K with a PR time of 14:55. On the women’s side Maria Peloquin (sr.-Prescott) broke her existing school record in the 800 by running 2:12.84 and finishing 2nd overall. She then went on to help the women’s 4 x 400 relay team set another school record and automatically qualify for Nationals with a time of 3:50.06. The relay team consisted of Talisa Emberts (jr.-Sussex Hamilton) – 56.5 split, Erin Schoenfelder (so.-Antioch, IL) – 58.9 split, Maria Peloquin – 58.6 split and Jordanne Greenup (jr.-Fridley, MN) – 55.9 split.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

With 2.8 seconds left on the clock, Terry Gibbons scanned the court to determine his options. Colorado College was up on his Western State Mountaineers by 3 points and had the ball to inbound; they had sent everyone to the other end of the court for the full court heave...

Sunday, May 15, 2011

The month of May has been good to the UW – Eau Claire women’s and men’s track and field teams. There were some very strong performances by the middle distance / distance women and men at the outdoor conference meet, which was hosted by UW-Platteville on May 6th and 7th. On the women’s side, Ashlyn Mauer (so.-Sheboygan Falls) led the way winning the 3,000m steeplechase by over 25 seconds in a PR and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 10:49. Kelly Palmer (sr.-Chaska, MN) placed 4th in 11:24 and freshman Shaina Weatherhead (Robbinsdale Cooper, MN) placed 9th overall in a 30” PR time of 12:14 in the steeple. In the 10K the Blugolds placed 3 in the top 8 with sophomore Michelle Brunshidle (St. Croix Central) leading the way in 2nd place with a PR time of 39:09. Molly Woodford (sr.-Waukesha South) wasn’t far behind finishing 3rd in a PR time of 39:17. Kacey Rindy (jr.-Fennimore) finished 8th in 40:12. Senior Maria Peloquin (Prescott) had a busy weekend anchoring the 4 x 800 relay in 2:22 on Friday evening, then on Saturday Maria finished 3rd overall in the 1500m run with a PR time of 4:44 and ran the third leg of the women’s 4 x 400 splitting 59.4 to help the 4 x 400 to a 3rd place finish in a time of 3:54. In the 5K sophomore Madison Sawyer (Champlin Park, MN) led the way for Eau Claire finishing 4th overall in 17” PR of 18:16.

On the men’s side sophomore Jeremy Kieser led the way for the Blugold distance crew finishing 2nd overall in the 3,000m steeplechase with a NCAA provisional and PR time of 9:21. Max Renner (sr.-Green Bay East) had a season’s best time of 9:28 to finish 8th overall in the steeple (0.25 seconds from 6th!). In the 4 x 800 Eau Claire had the lead through the first 2 exchanges with Jake Zander (sr.-Chippewa Falls McDonell) leading off in 1:53.9 and freshman Matt Scott (Kiel) running the second leg in 1:55.6. Freshman Bryan Krause (Webster) got out a bit too quick the first lap of the 3rd leg (54.0) and ended up splitting 1:59.9. Eric Pronschinske (so.-Arcadia), who had just run his lifetime PR of 1:55.74 earlier in the day during the 800 prelims, ran a strong anchor leg of 1:56.8 (his 2nd best time ever) to help the 4 x 800 team finish 5th overall in 7:46. Jake Zander came back strong on Saturday finishing 3rd overall in the 1500 in 3:57. Matt Scott also ran a very strong 1500 finishing 9th overall in 4:01 and missing the top 8 by 0.01 seconds.

The completion of the outdoor conference meet signals the end of the season for the majority of the team, however, the two weeks after conference provide runners a final opportunity, “Last Chance Meets”, to qualify for Nationals or simply go after a PR. This past week the Blugolds had a small group of runners competing at two different Last Chance Meets, which were the North Central College Dr. Keeler Invite in Naperville, IL this past Thursday and Friday and the UW-La Crosse Open this past Friday. At North Central Ashlyn Mauer punched her ticket to Nationals running an NCAA Automatic qualifying time of 10:40 in the 3,000m steeplechase. Ashlyn finished 2nd overall and was the top collegiate runner in the race. In the 800, Maria Peloquin ran her season’s best and NCAA Provisional qualifying time in unorthodox fashion. She was out her first lap in 67.2 and came charging home in 65.8 to finish in 2:13.07. This negative split tells me Maria can definitely run faster! Maria won her heat, was the top collegiate in the meet and finished 2nd overall. The men who competed at North Central also had some very impressive performances. A warm humid night didn’t slow Thomas Breitbach (jr.-Muskego) down in the 5K. Thomas closed his last 400 in 60 seconds to win in 14:25.26, which is 0.26 seconds off of the NCAA automatic standard, but should get him into the National Meet since he already has an automatic mark in the 10K (the 14:25 lowers his school record, which was 14:29 set in early April at UW-Platteville). In the 1500 Jake Zander closed his final 300 meters in 44 seconds to finish 3rd in his heat and 5th overall with a 2 second PR and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:52.76. At UW-La Crosse Madison Sawyer finished 2nd overall in the 1500 with a time of 4:52 and freshman Eric Knutson (Brookfield Central) won the 5K in 15:53.

This is finals week at UW-Eau Claire and the final week of Last Chance Meets. A few student athletes will compete this Thursday, May 19th at UW-La Crosse. Outdoor Nationals is next Thursday, May 26th through Saturday, May 28th at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.

Monday, May 9, 2011

My face hurts from smiling, my eyes hurt from crying and my heart hurts from fluttering. These have been an intense 24 hours but I can finally sigh in relief that the 2011 Blugolds are on the map! The range of emotions that I have felt over the conference tournament and into this morning are impossible to describe but I'll do my best for those of you who didn't get to witness it first hand.

Friday: We all loaded the bus after morning classes to start our journey into a post season run. As Karen said, we all read our anticipated spotlights that had us all in tears of joy and laughs of love. To keep the relaxed mood going, we watched the infamous "Ellen Degeneres, Here and Now" stand up comedy that ALWAYS keeps me laughing even though I can recite the whole thing by heart. When we got to the field, our warm up was shortened, and intensified but there were still nerves flowing through us but nerves were a natural feeling considering the circumstances. We knew this game would dictate the battles and challenges we would have to face the rest of the weekend. Challenge Accepted. We came out with the most energy that I've seen from this team the whole year. We battled a dominating pitcher for the first 6 innings and after an amazing diving catch by baby birdie Jenny Hess, we had the momentum going into the 7th. We knew we were in good hands when we lead the inning off with a walk and 6 runs later...BOOM. We were on the scoreboard. Yes, we gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th but isn't the point of softball to score more runs than your opponent ?? Thought so...check...we did that and started the tourney 1-0 :)

Saturday: After breakfast and a wonderful morning of being able to sleep until 8, we were ready for game two. We were facing a LaCrosse team that had been on a role as of late. We came out of the gates scoring our first run right away. But once again, LaCrosse got the best of us for the 3rd time this year and we were handed our first loss. To be honest, I don't remember much of this game. If there is anything Coach and Robin have taught me through my struggles this year is that you have to let it go. Holding on to negative experiences whether it be defensive plays or at-bats will only make your future successes few and far between. It took me a while to really buy into this concept because I'm stubborn and I'll admit it. But I think I've finally grasped the lesson and thus, I just let that LaCrosse game go. We still had another game to play. Our bats came out hot against Superior scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the first. And once again, having to supply the energy for both teams, with an added morning loss wasn't easy. But we weren't ready to go home yet and kept our post season dreams alive with a 6-1 win.

Sunday:Three teams left. Eau Claire, LaCrosse and River Falls. We played LaCrosse first. The mentality was much the same as during our first game vs. Whitewater. We were intense but relaxed...we had what I like to call, some serious fun during that game. Our pre game warm up was the same, with the addition of the cupid shuffle by our rhythmically talented infielders. It was a great ball game. We battled LaCrosse the entire way, chasing their starting pitcher from the game and keeping them unbalanced in the batters box. At the end of 7, we once again found ourselves with more runs than our opponent, and like the night before, kept our dreams alive.

Two teams left: Eau Claire and River Falls. We were just starting to play our best ball and we once again were faced with a battle. The game was intense play after great at bat after dominant pitching from both teams. At the top of 7, we were up 4-2 with three outs to go. Somewhere between getting the 2nd and 3rd out, River Falls managed to put up three runs on us to go up 5-4. We threatened in the bottom of the 7th but couldn't get a runner across the plate and thus, had been defeated. Feelings of disbelief and heart break were among all of us. We played so well and yet, found ourselves without an automatic bid into the post season tournament. Without focusing too much on the negatives, I'll just say that in those moments after our loss, standing there with not only my teammates, but some of my best friends, we were devastated to say the least. We didn't know if we'd have a shot at an at large bid and thus. It could have been the last time the 2011 Blugolds were on the field together. It hurt and it made me sick to my stomach. None of us knew what to think.

It was hard to stay positive after that game. We knew there was still a chance at a bid, but it wasn't in our control anymore. We had to play the waiting game which I can now tell you is my least favorite game of all time, hands down. I personally couldn't get too positive or too negative about the situation because going to either extreme had the potential to set me up for heart break once again. I was a zombie. Not knowing if I would play again this season simply didn't seem real. I didn't want to believe it.

Monday:Wake up at 5:00am...I can't sleep. The weather certainly isn't giving me extra hope and guess what I have to do? Go to class. Awesome. The selection show wasn't until 11:00am so I had to make it through two classes, dodging the question on how the weekend went and when my next game was. At 10:50 I booked it up the hill, met up with my teammates and coaches, and prepared for the moment. Linked arm and arm, we sat there waiting. To make matters worse, we play in a state where every school starts with "The University of Wisconsin...." so each time we heard Wisconsin, our hearts raced, only to find out it said Whitewater, or La Crosse. We got to the Eau Claire regional, the first four teams were announced and then it popped up on the screen. THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE. You'll have to watch the video of us to see our reaction because I can't do it justice by trying to explain it. Hugs, tears, laughs...you name it, it was there. We made it. We got to continue our dream of a post season run. We were given a second chance and for that, we are all very grateful. For me though, it's more than that.

As an upper classman, I've been to regionals before: my freshmen year. We received an at large bid that year to the Illinois Wesleyan regional but I didn't even get to set foot on the dirt. In 2009 we had more players on the team than the NCAA allowed to suit up during the post season. We had two more than the allotted number and thus, I was one of two players who had to witness the action from the bleachers. I couldn't be in the dugout or warm up or even play catch. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do as a college softball player. Not being able to be with my team during that time made me frustrated, upset, angry, sad, and happy for my teammates all at the same time because of what they got to experience. I wanted nothing more than to be with them during such an exiting and amazing time and I couldn't. I remember it like it was yesterday. The feelings, the tears....everything.

So this year, getting into Regionals is extra special. I finally get to experience what my fellow upperclassmen got to experience without me in 2009. I get a chance to play and lead a team in the post season. I get to step out on the dirt and participate, and I get to do it at Gelein nonetheless. And what makes it extra special? Every single one of us 2011 Blugolds gets to suit up. Our entire team will be there together, fighting until the end. No one will have to experience what I had to in 2009 and for that, I am ecstatic and grateful. Coach said it best after our River Falls loss in that "there's just something special about this group of girls. I don't know what it is, but there's just something." I couldn't agree more. I couldn't imagine playing with 20 more amazing people that I call my teammates and my best friends. Being able to play on our home field, in front of the best crowd in Division III and to have all of us there doing it together, makes going through everything we've had to go through soooooooo worth it. I didn't think it was possible but my love of softball has grown even more these past few days. This game is constantly changing my life and my relationships with those around me for the better. Each and every day that I'm surrounded by my Blugold family I realize even more that I'm truly blessed to play on this team. Ladies, I cannot wait to see what's in store for us as we finally get our chance to Chase the Dream.

Friday, May 6, 2011

It's morning of the WIAC tournament. The Blugolds, ranked 4th, are facing the Whitewater Warhawks, ranked 3rd, this afternoon at 2:00 pm in River Falls.

Our record is 0-0 at this point. Nothing else matters. We are bringing our ultimate "A-game", complete intensity, and constant enthusiasm today. The energy on the bus is already positive, especially after distributing the highly anticipated "Spotlights." We all have taken time to acknowledge each contributing member of this team to spotlight how much we appreciate them. Today, this team is more eager than ever to step onto the field together and bring it.

Well, it's 10:30 a.m. and it's already 58 degrees. And I should mention it is a high of 68. There's blue skies. Sun shining. Trees budding. I am finally wearing sunglasses...and get this...SHORTS. Sure, I have my 6,000 other layers packed - my UnderArmour get-up, 2 pairs of mittens, wool socks (that I happened to borrow and not return after the last freezing game from AT Dickie), 2 sweatshirts, 2 jackets, mayyybe 4 long sleeves, and my fleece blanket - but I am rejoicing that I won't be huddled beneath my blanket, putting all my energy into retaining my body heat. Sure, everyone will be blinded by my snow-white, sun-deprived skin, but I'm just ecstatic for a beautiful day to be at a ball game. And not just ANY ball game...it's the first game of the WIAC. Let's get it, 'golds!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Although many of the middle distance / distance runners had this past weekend off in preparation for conference this Friday and Saturday it was a historic weekend for the Blugolds. Thomas Breitbach (jr.-Muskego) won the 10K at the Hillsdale College Gina Relays in a school record time of 29:49. The previous record of 30:18 was set 23 years ago by Blugold Hall of Fame runner Dan Held. Thomas ran a very smart race passing through the 5K mark in 15:08 and the 8K mark in 24:05. Tom ran his final 2K in 5:44 and closed the final 800 meters in 2:12 for a final 5K of 14:41. Jake Zander (sr.-Chippewa Falls McDonell) also had a strong performance at Hillsdale winning the open 1500 in a PR time of 3:54. At the St. Mary’s Invite freshman Matt Wenaas (Chippewa Falls McDonell) ran a 21 second PR in the 5K to finish 4th in 15:39, and Jeremy Kieser (so.-Verona) ran his first steeple of the year in a PR time of 9:34 to finish 3rd overall. On the women’s side, Maria Peloquin (sr.-Prescott) fought through very breezy conditions to tie her season PR in the 800 with a 2:15 at Hillsdale College, and freshman Shaina Weatherhead (Robbinsdale Cooper, MN) ran the first steeple of her career and finished 5th overall in a time of 12:44 at the St. Mary’s Invite.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

This weekend we travel to the conference tournament, to a place I called home for 6 years. It is a place of familiarity to me. I know the field like the back of my hand: the smells, the sounds, the familiar faces, everything about it. I spent more time on that field than anywhere else on campus and it shows by my grades :). I’ve seen wonderful things happen on that field; I’ve seen amazing plays, team unity, pride, and home runs that seem like they can go forever.

But this will be the first time I travel back to my former home proudly wearing the new colors of blue and gold. I’m with a different team now. A team that works harder than any team I know of and the girls will attest to this after on of their hard conditioning workouts. Its a team that really is a team where everyone contributes and everyone has ownership to its success.

For a long time I was an outsider looking in wondering how does a program like Eau Claire continue to succeed year after year? How do they get their teams to perform at their fullest potential every time out? When I arrived this fall and joined the team I learned quickly why. To start off the main coaching staff here is some of the best coaches you can find in DIII softball. They know how to win and they expect to win every time out. If you know Coach, you know what I am talking about. She is one of the most competitive people I have ever met. Loosing is not in her vocabulary. But because of her competitiveness, her players learn how to win and they soon expect the same things she wants. People have asked “what is it like to play there?” The pressure to play at the top level at all times must be intense and overwhelming. It can be but as we say “Pressure is a Privilege”.

One of the things that got said this fall by a staff member has stuck with me till this point. There are 400+ colleges at the Division III level, 50 of those teams will pull to the top to compete for a National Championship by the end of fall. When you come back in the winter after practicing in the off season on your own there will be 20 teams at that point that have worked hard enough when a coach wasn’t there that will make a legit run for the 8 team championship. Will you be one of those teams? I honestly believe that we have put in the work necessary to be one of those top 8 teams. There was so much time spent in the gym taking those extra cuts, getting the extra grounders, working out and climbing their way to the top, and putting in the extra work when no one else was looking. Take pride in the hard work you have put in. Go on and dominate for yourself and for your team. You owe this to yourself.

I want to leave you with a few parting quotes:

“A true champion is someone who wants to make a difference, who never gives up, and who gives everything she has no matter what the circumstances. A true champion works hard and never loses sight of her dreams”. –Dot Richardson

“It’s always about wanting to one-up myself from the day before. There’s never an absolute 100% perfect performance, but going out and striving for that perfect performance is what keeps me going.” – Cat Osterman

“A winner’s strongest muscle is her heart”-Cassie Campbell

“You have to chase your dreams, no matter what. The impossible just takes a little longer. One stroke at a time, one step at a time, the impossible is easy to achieve.” –Tori Murden

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I have finally made it to the blog (well overdue, I know).I will admit that Coach gave me some motivation to sign on to read over Em’s post from last week about David.When we hear stories like David’s or when we experience the pain through someone else as they suffer a loss of somebody near and dear to their heart, I believe it is a wakeup call for most, if not all.I have found, however, that as I have heard these stories growing up, it is easy to let them affect you for just the time being—not long term.Just over the past two years, have I finally begun to remember others’ unfortunate stories each and every day that I am here.Sadly, I used to carry the attitude that my loved ones, and most importantly my family, would be here day in and day out.I realize today, and every day, how truly lucky I am to lie in bed each night and be able to thank God for allowing my loved ones to remain in my life for one more whole day.

This brings me to a status I came across on Facebook posted by the one and only, Karen Hansen.I’m sure some of you chuckle or sigh at the fact that I mentioned Facebook, but I am a huge quote person, and I definitely hit the “like” button for her status!This status read: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This status can obviously be interpreted in many different ways; it reminded me of several different things.

One of the things that it reminded me of was the people in my life.I am the person I am and I cannot change whether or not I am accepted for that.Another one of my favorite quotes to go along with this idea states that “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” There are other things about life in general that this status can pertain to, but I will jump to explain what it means to me in terms of softball.

While Em has already made this point, allowing ourselves to get flustered because of a weather delay or the wrong kind of sandwich is simply silly.It may not be the most ideal situation, but there could be much worse situations that we could be presented with.We cannot control the weather, but we can control our attitude about it.As long as we have tried out hardest, we cannot control if we get thrown out on a steal or strike out at the plate.Even though frustration is an acceptable emotion in this situation, we can control if we choose to instead move on and learn from our mistakes. These are only two of many examples related to softball. I am plenty guilty of complaining or making comments about little and uncontrollable things, which is why I think it was important to come across a status like Karen’s.Not to mention, I can’t begin to count how many times my parents have told me to “Control the controllables” (another good reminder).

A couple of weeks ago Jess and Sam presented their leadership lesson.They closed with the challenge for each of us to fulfill a promise we made.I have not yet done that, but I am now committing and promising to myself to not complain about the little and unimportant things in life.What is your promise?On this note, I will end with the understanding that my post may have been a bit intense, if you will, for some.However, I think it is good for us all to hear once and a while.

I have a feeling tomorrow we are going to need a broom after we SWEEP River Falls!See y’all then!

The cool and rainy weather the last two weeks hasn’t slowed the UW - Eau Claire middle distance / distance crew. The past two meets at UW-La Crosse on Friday, April 15th and last Friday, April 22nd at Winona State have seen strong performances on the track from the Blugolds. In La Crosse two weeks ago the distance men and women focused on the 10K. On the men’s side, Charlie Daehler (jr.-Whitefish Bay) and Aric Runzheimer (so.-Kettle Moraine) ran strong finishing 2nd and 4th overall in 31:59 and 32:13. The duo passed through 8K together in 25:49 and separated during the final 3 laps. Charlie made a late surge during the final lap but came up just short of the win finishing less than 2 seconds behind 1st place with a 17 second PR.

The women placed 5 individuals in the top 9 in the 10K at UW-La Crosse. Michelle Brunshidle (so.-St. Croix Central) led the way placing 2nd overall in 39:12 in her first ever 10,000m race. Molly Woodford (sr.-Waukesha South) ran with Michelle until the final lap and finished 4th overall in a PR time of 39:21. Rounding out the top 5 for Eau Claire was Ilse Renner (so.-Green Bay East)-5th, 39:28*PR; Kacey Rindy (jr.-Fennimore)-7th, 39:56 and Teresa Coughlin (jr.-Coon Rapids, MN)-9th, 40:19.

At Winona State this past Friday the Blugold men had several strong performances despite very rainy and windy conditions. In the 800, sophomore Aaron Easker (Wittenberg-Birnamwood) PR’d by over 2 seconds finishing 5th overall in 1:56. Eric Pronschinske (so.-Arcadia) won the 2nd section of the men’s 1500 and finished 8th overall in a PR time of 4:10. Eric closed his final 300m in 45 seconds. Senior Max Renner (Green Bay East) ran his first race of the season placing 4th in the 3,000m Steeplechase in a time of 9:47.

The Blugold women set nine lifetime PR’s on Friday in Winona. Leading the way was sophomore Ashlyn Mauer (so.-Sheboygan Falls) who won the 5K in a PR time of 17:36, which was 59 seconds ahead of the second place finisher! Freshmen Victoria Janasz (Elk River, MN) and Alana Jenkins (Eau Claire Memorial) also had 5K PR’s finishing 4th and 5th in 19:04 and 19:18. Maria Peloquin (sr.-Prescott) ran a 4 second PR in the 1500m run finishing 5th overall in a time of 4:44. Four other Blugold women broke 5 minutes in the 1500 all in PR times, and they include: Madison Sawyer (so.-Champlin Park, MN)-7th, 4:52; Erica Tiffany (so.-Mounds View, MN)-8th, 4:57; Taylor McMillan (so.-Stoughton)-9th, 4:58 and Jami Riley (fr.-Fairmont, MN)-11th, 4:59. Kelly Palmer (sr.-Chaska, MN) also had a strong performance in the 3,000m steeplechase winning by 20 seconds in a time of 11:34.

The Blugolds are competing at three different meets this weekend, which include the St. Mary’s Invite in Winona, MN; the Gina Relays at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI and the Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA. Outdoor Conference is next Friday and Saturday, May 6th and 7th at UW-Platteville.

Approximately 6:00 a.m. - wake up, have my coffee (you'll see this entry a LOT, as it's the way I start EVERY day - the only variable is the time I get up) Have breakfast, get packed (a full duffle bag of about every possible option for warm clothing - you can never prepare too much for the possibility of cold weather), and finish getting ready to go.

7:45 a.m. - leave the house a little early because we discovered a broken bat yesterday so I need to make a quick stop at our local sporting goods store to get a replacement bat.

8:05 a.m. - arrive on campus to get the bus loaded - but wait! NO BUS!!! You've got to be kidding me! We just confirmed this yesterday - Coach Baker calls the emergency number for the bus company and we're told the bus is at Hwy 53 and Hwy 29 - still 20 minutes away, and we're scheduled to LEAVE at 8:30. I'm NOT happy - we soon find out the driver was told to be here at 8:45 - NO, that is supposed to be NEXT Saturday, not THIS Saturday.

At this point it is raining and some doubt about whether or not we'll be able to play creeps into everyone's minds, but the players know better than to ask me because for one, Oshkosh is 3 1/2 hours away, so just because it's raining here, doesn't mean it's raining there; and two, regardless of the weather, we are always preparing "as if."

The players wait inside the McPhee Center with their bags and the equipment, as I keep my displeasure with the bus situation under control.

8:40 a.m. - the bus finally arrives and the players move to the bus with all their gear faster than they typically run from home to 1st - they know we were supposed to be on the road 10 minutes ago and they joke that we'll need to implement our "flat tire" pregame warmup. Our "flat tire" warmup, as we've named it, is an abbreviated version of our pregame warmup - it is designed (and we have practiced it) so in the event something happens that is out of our control on the way to a road game (like a flat tire), we don't go into panic mode thinking we'll never play well because we didn't get a full warmup.

8:45 a.m. - we are pulling out of the parking lot - the bus driver knew he was late, and we loaded that bus with reckless abandon - hence, only 5 minutes of time has passed since the bus arrived and we are pulling out.

We experienced some heavy mist for a good part of the ride to Oshkosh, but were confident that we were going to get the games in. During the ride, the coaches discuss strategy and our opponent while the players typically sleep, watch a movie, some do homework, and eventually they all eat - we take food with us so they can have a sandwich or whatever else they need/want while we're on the bus. Doing it this way saves us money, and we're able to keep our players in class more because we don't have to leave an hour early just so we can stop and eat along the way. (By the way, today's movie choice - Pirates of the Carribean)

12:00 p.m. - we arrive in Oshkosh at the softball field right on time - the trip is pretty quick on Hwy 29 to Wausau, 39 south to Stevens Point, then Hwy 10 over to the Fox Valley area. All 4 lane - just the way I like it. They players prefer that type of trip as well, as opposed to the Decorah, Iowa, trip, which resulted in more car sickness than I've ever experienced before on a single trip!

Pregame warmup as usual - but everyone had wet socks due to all the rain they had received the night before - oh well, they'd get wet eventually anyway.

2:00 p.m. - game time - we pull off a double header sweep at Oshkosh - always a very difficult feat to win on the road there.

6:00 p.m. - the bus pulls out from the stadium, minus a few players who have elected to ride home with their parents to spend Easter with their families tomorrow. The players and staff who remain on the bus make a stop at Culver's for some food on the go. The ride home will be enjoyable because everyone feels good about what we accomplished today - plus we all know we have an entire day off from work and classes tomorrow - life is good.

Movie choice on the bus ride home - Enchanted - which we receive bonus singing from Emily Muller and Ashley Meinen - I couldn't even hear the actual movie because they were bellowing in my ears. By the way, the players all CHOSE to sit at the front of the bus on the ride home. They will never admit it, but they really do LOVE their coaches and just wanted to spend quality time with us on the way home. :)

Second movie option - The Incredibles. I really wanted to watch this movie, but there was so much chatter going on I couldn't hear it, so I finally put in my earphones and watched a video podcast.

10:00 p.m. - arrive back in Eau Claire - exhausted, but happy. Load the food bins in the Pilot, haul the equipment to the storage room, load the dirty uniforms into a big bag to take home.

10:45 p.m. - arrive at home - put one load of uniforms in the washing machine. Have to do laundry at home tonight because the equipment/laundry room won't be open to do the unis before we play again on Monday.

11:30 p.m. - or approximately that time - after a little unwinding with a bit of TV, the eyes won't stay open anymore, so it's off to dreamland.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

As I sit here at my kitchen table watching the rain come down (at least it's rain rather than snow this time!), I'm reflecting on the past few days and considering what to write about. This invitation to blog has been staring at me, as my student manager, Karen, has used the subtlety of sending me a "reminder" about posting......ok Karen, I get it! :)

The season has presented its share of challenges. The weather has been the most persistent of them all. We've faced our share of adversity - and I don't use that term lightly. So what of the "life lessons" we are learning as we trek through another season of Blugold softball?

So as I sit here, trying to be profound, what keeps coming to mind is doing a series of entries about a "day in the life" or "week in the life" of a Division III softball coach.

So I think I'll go back to last week - I'll just pick Friday as my starting point and we'll go from there.

To start, I'm an assistant athletic director, so my job is not just coaching softball. At this time of year, I'm actually working very hard on getting things ready to go for summer orientation as well as Fall 2011 for the teams to come back to campus and start practices. So I spent a few minutes with the women's hockey coach determining when his team athletics orientation meeting would be held next fall.

Also as an assistant AD, I am in charge of facilitating team evaluations at the end of each season. I use a pretty slick computer program through the University, but I have to enter every email address and name manually (well, I use copy/paste for the email address) :) So I spent a good part of the morning setting up the emails to go out to the spring sport athletes.

After having lunch at my desk, it was time to load equipment into my vehicle to take outside for practice. Another challenge with the ever-changing weather - the equipment spends more than its fair share of time in the back of my Honda Pilot!

So Friday was the day after a double header, but the day before a double header as well - a pretty typical schedule for the spring of 2011, given all the changes the weather has forced upon us. What was the forecast? Cold, windy, and possible rain. Ah, what the heck, practicing outside will make us tougher - plus, there were just things we HAD to do that couldn't be done in the gym. So outside it was.

Now, there are certain things that I will compromise on - how LONG we practice outside is one of them, especially when the wind chill dips into the 30's. So we had a plan of things we needed to do outside where space makes all the difference, and our goal was to be done in 1 hour. Mission accomplished.

After that 1 hour, however, we had not done any hitting. So back into the gym we went. Friday afternoon was Good Friday, so basically the entire student body was gone - no worries in having to chase pick up hoops players out of the gym. Bring the cages down, get the pitching mats out, and away we go for about another hour. At this point in the season, we have done drill after drill after drill - the players have certain drills that are their favorites and certain drills, that although not their favorites, are necessary for them to get better - those are the things we work on inside.

As we start to hit and pitch, the rain comes down in sheets - good decision to come inside when we did.

We're supposed to play the next day in Oshkosh - thankfully they have a tarp to protect the infield. But are we 100% certain at this point that we'll play? Not really - but like most other days, we have to prepare "as if." We have to know for sure by 7:30 a.m. the next day because that's our deadline to cancel the bus so we don't get charged. My assistant coach, Amber Dohlman, made her regular trip to Sam's Club earlier today to get meat, bread, cheese, etc., so we can save money by fixing sandwiches on the bus on the way to the game

Get the gym cleaned up, put up the cages, put the mats away - unless you hear from me, bus leaves at 8:30 a.m.

9:45 p.m. - Oshkosh calls - we should be a go for tomorrow. No need to cancel the bus. Good night.

"A week in the life" continues with Saturday - tomorrow. See you then.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

This is Coach Husted; I'm the volunteer pitching coach this season for the 'golds and since it has been many years since I've coached at the college game; this is my first time riding the bus in a very long time.

Sure I ride the rental car shuttle from some airport to some rental car facility on a regular basis but this is a full on coach bus experience.

Last week was my maiden voyage, a trip to Whitewater that lasted 4 hours maybe. Right now, we are on the way to Oshkosh.

Here is what happens on the bus...

1. A lot of sleep. As I sit here we have 2 AT's sleeping in the row behind me; Jessa has been out cold since we left and I think Amber is also sleeping. I'd nap BUT the reality is that I'd snore and that probably would get me kicked off the bus. My entire goal is to not get kicked off the bus.

2. We watch movies. So far, here has been the movies we've watched in 2 trips. First we watched "The Blind Side" and "Cars" on the way to UWW. I had never seen "Cars" and based on the first part, I'd probably watch the 2nd half if I found it on cable. On the way back we watched something about Harry Potter (I have no clue). This trip we've started with Pirates of the Caribbean.

3. There is also a decent number of kids who use this time to get homework done. Being a student athlete means you have to have great time management skills and so post game homework is often a key part of that time management process for our brilliant athletes.

But here is my favorite part of the bus trip -- getting from the front of the bus to the back of bus for the water closet. It is the ultimate challenge of under, over and past sleeping legs. You have to look for random players sleeping anywhere and with a small pathway to navigate often you have to use creative problem solving to get to the back. Even more fun, on the way back; kids have shifted etc so you may have a different "course" to tackle on the way back.

I have my trusty stopwatch here, maybe Coach and I can do time trials to see who is quickest; actually... she has a lot more experience at this; maybe I don't want to challenge her after all.

Friday, April 22, 2011

With the 199th and 200th shut outs in school history, we're back to 21 wins!!! And more importantly, there aren't 21 losses on the other side of the tally to go with them :)

The double header against St. Mary's was, for lack of a more sophisticated word, FUN! We played two mercy rule games where we saw our bats get hot and our confidence build right before the home stretch of the race for conference champions. Coach also introduced what I'm now calling : The Bubblegum Theory

What is the Bubblegum Theory? Well...it's actually pretty simple, but very logical. If you know anything about UWEC softball, you know that food is very, I mean VERY important to our daily functioning. We go through Noni chews like nobody's business and we literally eat Swedish Fish and Red Vines (even though Twizzlers are WAYYYY better) by the bag full! Inbetween games...we scrounge down muffin after muffin, string cheese after string cheese and pray that we can keep the food down long enough to make it through the second game. If you know anything about UWEC softball, I usually fail in that department :)

Anyway...back to the point: The Bubblegum Theory. This theory states that, "If anyone shall hit a ball over the fence, in fair territory, thus resulting in the number of runs as their are persons on base and up to bat, thou shalt receive a piece of Bubblegum." Ammendment #1 was made to this theory in game two. The ammendment stated "If thou are a slapper and keep said inning alive, in which there is a ball hitteth over the fence, thou shalt recieve a piece of bubble gum from Robin." In non philisophical terminolgy: you hit a home run, you get bubblegum. If you're a lefty slapper whose goal is to bunt the ball 4 feet...we'll give you one anyway for scoring on someone else's homerun. And we PROVED that theory.

After hitting 3 home runs in game one, we followed up that performance with 3 more in game 2! The only non slapper to not hit a home run yesterday: Emily Haluska. But she's a former slapper and hitting like .900 this season so we'll probably just give her bubblegum for being so good anyway :)

We scored a grand total 14 out of 17 runs off the home run ball...Boom, roasted. Also proving another Theory: Food is motivation....at least to softball players who get to run as slowly as please if they hit the ball over the fence!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Today at the Luncheon we were asked a question on how we deal with the weather changes, delays, cancellations, and reschedules that come with playing a spring outdoor sport in Wisconsin. I answered with, "it's stressful, not knowing where or when or IF you'll play. But somehow, we manage to do it every year and get by while still passing our classes." However, after further review, it's such a silly thing to be stressed about....

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to attend the NACSM conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota. NACSM is American College of Sports Medicine, Northland Chapter. They host a conference every year for Kinesiology Majors, like myself, to present research studies, findings and of course, have speakers on several topics. And although I was extremely impressed with the keynote speaker, Dr. Len Kravitz, it was David Carle, a 20 year old from Anchorage, Alaska, who impacted me the most...David Carle, left his childhood home in Anchorage, Alaska at the age of 15 , and came to Minnesota to pursue a career as a professional hockey player. He completed his high school career at Shattuck, St Mary's Prep school with a National Title in 2008 and a full scholarship to Denver Colorado. Before he started his college hockey career, he was invited to the NHL Hockey Combine where the top 75 players in the US come together and perform in front of pro scouts. He made it through every test and drill, including a #1 finish in the Wingate Test. He was a for sure 2nd, maybe 1st round draft pick, and had his whole life ahead of him. The only thing stopping him was the required EKG. And boy, did it stop him.

Two days after the combine, David got an email saying he needed to see a cardiologist at Mayo Hospital concerning his abnormal EKG. After further testing, David found out, the morning of the NHL draft, that he had Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and was told that he needed to withdraw his name from the draft and that he could never again play hockey...talk about a 180...

The walls of his heart, which are normally between 5-9 mm, were 24mm thick, causing restricted blood flow in his left ventricle and thus, making his heart work harder to allow proper function. This disease, where many times, your first symptom is your last, is genetic. You've maybe heard about it on the news one time or another..recently, Wes Leonard, a high school basketball player at Fennville, hit the game winning shot to end their season with a perfect record and within minutes, collapsed and subsequently died on the court. This was result of the same disease, only David's was caught ahead of time. The Wingate test alone should have killed him. It's a test that takes your heart rate from normal to max (over 200bpm) in almost 30 seconds. But he somehow made it through...and with a 1st place finish none the less...

David now has a "box" for lack of a better word, implanted in his chest to monitor his heart rate. He cannot exercise above 160 bpm, so going from a professional athlete, to nothing more than jogging, was an adjustment both physically and mentally. If his HR gets above 220bpm, the "box" sends a shock of 500 Volts to his chest which he said is a similar feeling to getting kicked in the chest by a horse.

Minus the one misfire where the device was reading incorrectly and shocked him unnecessarily, and a collapse on the court at a practice, this device has kept him alive. And not only alive, but minus his heart, he's perfectly healthy. He considers himself very lucky having caught the disease before it killed him and is still AMAZINGLY positive. Hearing him speak, in a sense, made me feel guilty of what I have. But it also makes me grateful as well.

The university of Denver still honored his full ride scholarship and he's now a student coach there. He was also drafted in NHL by the Toronto Lightening, who picked him in the 7th and final round, so that one day he could tell his grandchildren that he was a pro hockey player, even with this disease.

There is a point to my many words...I promise. We complain about weather. We complain about missing classes. We complain about not having internet on our bus. And sometimes we even complain when there's turkey sandwiches but not PB and J. But, moral of the story, one of these days, we'll still GET to play. David, like many others out there, have no choice...he can't ever play hockey again. He doesn't just miss a game here and there because of WEATHER: He misses every game because there's always the risk of WHETHER or not his heart will stop. So, I think we're pretty lucky, even with the snow still falling in April. Stressing about weather or whether or not we'll be stopping to eat on the way home...even missing a game or even a season because we're injured...is minor. Very minor...

David left us all with one remark and it's the one I'll leave with you. "If you have the disease, consider yourself lucky to have found about it while you were still living. If you don't have the disease, consider yourself lucky because now, there is no excuse for you to not push yourself to be the best you can possibly be."

So yeah, our situation isn't ideal...but I'll take this any day over many other things...

Friday, April 15, 2011

If you don't already know...Eau Claire got selected as one of 8 sites for the NCAA Softball Regionals. We will host 8 teams in a double elimination tournament. The winner of the Regional will go on to Salem for the NCAA National Tournament.

For our team it is a huge motivator. We are playing well right now, but we know that we have to continue to play well so that we get to play in our own Regional! It would mean a lot to us if we got to sleep in our own beds and not miss the last week of classes! Also, it is definite home-field advantage.

For me personally it means a lot to know that we have a chance to win Regionals on our own field. As a freshmen, I was on the team who got to play on Gelein and win a Regional title. It was an amazing experience! After 8 run ruling our first opponent, we got to play the night game vs. Oshkosh. It was PERFECT weather for a night game. Warm, but not hot, and a slight breeze. We had so many fans there to cheer us on! We then got to play St. Thomas, who was highly ranked. We gutted out a victory in 8 innings to play for the Regional title. We then blew away Oshkosh for the title! And the celebration began!

We were so fortunate to have so many fans and parents there supporting us, and I'm hoping we can bring the fans out to support us this year! I am hoping that we continue to play well so that we can play on our field come May 12th!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The outdoor track season is off to a great start for the UW-Eau Claire women’s and men’s track & field teams. The Blugolds have competed in two meets at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA on Saturday, April 2nd and this past Saturday, April 9th at UW-Platteville.

At Wartburg the entire middle distance / distance women’s team competed in the 1500 with several people doubling back in the 800 or 4 x 400 relay. Maria Peloquin (sr.-Prescott) led the way in the 1500 finishing 4th in a personal best time of 4:48.44. Ashlyn Mauer (so.-Sheboygan Falls), Madison Sawyer (so.-Champlin Park) and Jami Riley (fr.-Fairmont, MN) also set personal bests finishing 6th, 10th and 12th with times of 4:53, 4:57 and 5:00.

On the men’s side at Wartburg freshman Matt Scott (Kiel) had an impressive meet running 4:01 in the 1500 to finish 7th and then Matt doubled back in the 800 with a PR time of 1:57 to finish 6th. Jake Zander (sr.-Chippewa Falls McDonell) and Aaron Easker (so.-Wittenberg-Birnamwood) led the way in the 1500 finishing 4th and 5th overall both running times of 3:59.

At Platteville this past weekend the middle distance / distance crew had 10 PR’s on the women’s side and 11 PR’s on the men’s side. Ashlyn Mauer led the way for the women winning the 3000m Steeplechase by 30 seconds in a NCAA Provisional qualifying time of 10:53. This is a 53 second PR and ranks Ashlyn 6th nationally in Division III. In the 800 three women broke 2:20 with Maria Peloquin leading the way with a 2:15 4th place finish. Taylor McMillan (so.-Stoughton) and Jami Riley both ran PR times of 2:17 and 2:19 to finish 7th and 10th overall. In the 1500 Nicole Blahnik (so.-Antigo) ran strong finishing 7th in a PR time of 4:54. Five Blugold women placed in the top 8 in the 5K with Teresa Coughlin (jr.-Coon Rapids, MN) finishing 2nd in a 32” PR time of 18:31. Madison Sawyer, who ran her first 5K on the track, wasn’t far behind Teresa finishing 3rd overall in 18:33. Rounding out the top 5 in the 5K were Michelle Brunshidle (so.-St. Croix Central)-5th, 18:47; Molly Woodford (sr.-Waukesha South)-7th, 18:58; and Kacey Rindy (jr.-Fennimore)-8th, 18:59.

On the men’s side, Thomas Breitbach set a new UW-Eau Claire outdoor school record in the 5K with a time of 14:29. The previous record of 14:39 was set by Mike Monk in 1990. Breitbach’s time is a NCAA Division III provisional qualifying mark and currently ranks him 2nd in the nation. Aaron Easker and Jeremy Kieser (so.-Verona) also had strong performances in the 5K. Easker, in his 5K debut, finished 6th overall in 15:01, and Kieser finished 8th overall in a PR time of 15:05. In the 800 Jake Zander finished 5th in a PR time of 1:55.25, and Alex Adkinson (so.-Whitewater) finished 6th in 1:55.70. Eric Knutson (fr.-Brookfield Central) and Tyler Hart (fr.-Sun Prairie) ran the first Steeplechase of their careers and did well finishing 4th and 7th overall with times of 10:02 and 10:17.

Up next for the Blugolds is the Phil Esten Invite at UW-La Crosse this Friday. The following week the team will split up and go to two different meets: the Winona State Invite in Winona, MN and the Kansas Relays at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

We made it. 6 games, in 3 days and with some unfortunate emotions, we made it to our day off. Whew. Its been a tough and trying 72 hours but the Blugolds have once again managed to rally and find a way to get things done. Let's take a look back...

Thursday presented us with our WIAC opener against Stout. With Stout being our I-94 rival, there was more at stake on the double header than just 2 wins. We managed to avenge our uncharacteristic 2009 performance at Stout by sweeping the Blue Devils and start off the season undefeated in conference.

The Blugolds were then put to the test. Physically, mentally and emotionally. Not only did we have classes as usual in the morning along with our rescheduled double header vs. Superior, but one of our teammates lost someone very dear to her heart. It was a loss that hit very close to home for many of us and we had to lean on each other for support. We had to rally together, find a way to start the healing process and dig deep to find the good of the situation. It was a tough and exhausting night to say the least.

Friday afternoon brought us all together once again. Before our pre-game warm up we all took a deep breath, tried to focus on the task at hand and find a way to get 2 wins against a Superior team that has played "spoiler" the last couple years. Not to mention, they have a very relaxed playing style. So, not only did we need to find the energy for ourselves, but we had to bring it for 2 teams.

We showed a lot of heart, getting through those two games with tough defense, pitching and clutch hitting to earn our second sweep of the season and remain undefeated in conference. And with everyone else in the conference sporting at least 1 loss in the WIAC, we were sitting pretty.

Now the true test. Central, IA, the 5th ranked team in the country, was our next opponent. It was our 5-6th games in 3 days, we were exhausted and considering the other circumstances, we had every reason to let these two games slide.

Game one was a battle. We lost to a very, very good team. Even though the score was 11-1, I personally felt like it was closer than the books portrayed. But never the less, our bats were silent, our defense was a little shaky and sometimes, good hitters will beat good pitching. That "blow out" gave us even more reason for us to let game 2 slip away...

Game two was different. We held Central's offense in check. Going into the bottom of the 6th we were down 5-2 and with two outs, we came to life. We had two runners on and we were at the top of the order. Harp walked, and Acker pinch hit and had a grrrrrreat at bat to give us back to back walks. Then it was go time! Sara Baum, Jess Freagon and I had back-to-back-to-back singles to bring the score to 8-5 going into the top of the 7th. Lauren Carlson came in to close the game and got 3 BIG outs to end Central's 23 game winning streak!

We made it. 5-1 in 3 days, a win against a top 5 team, and an undefeated conference record. We battled adversity and everything that was thrown our way. We could finally breathe in between the tears of joy and tears of loss. We grew as a team and as individuals this week. We grew as one single unit fighting for each other every step of the way. I'm so proud of this group of girls, our coaching staff, and our friends and family that help us get through each and every day. As Karen has said, "To be alive is power." Well I'm going to add to that....love is power. And with the love that we showed these last 72 hours, the sky is the limit for us. Remember ladies, God only gives us what he knows we can handle.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Who will win the Women's WIAC whilst winter went away and spring has sprung?

Okay, so I am just giddy that the snow has melted and that we can finally play outside. The Blugolds are finally outdoors, wearing their cleats, and playing in the dirt...just in time for Conference play.

The Blugolds open the conference season against the WIAC today. We will be heading to Menomonie, WI to face the UW-Stout Blue Devils in a double header at 4 and 6 pm.

We are hoping to continue on with victory, especially after our thrilling win over Luther on Sunday. We are eager to get rolling into conference season, and will also be facing Central College (non-conference) and UW-Superior this weekend.

Monday, April 4, 2011

So I’ve decided to help my friend Karen out on the Blog front. After promising her on spring break that I’d write an entry, I’ve finally held up my end of the deal. And after losing draft one of the blog to a computer malfunction, here’s round two…

Karen has done a great job thus far keeping readers updated on games, stories and highlights so hopefully, I can offer a little different perspective.

I know its cliché, but it honestly feels like just yesterday that we began day one of practice. These last 16 games have flown by. They’ve presented themselves with plenty of challenges, excitement, pressure situations and of course, lots and lots of fun. Maybe it’s because a record of 12-4 is WAYYYYY better than our record of 4-11 at this time last year, but I’m convinced it’s more than a record that defines our team and the fun that we have.

The 2011 Blugolds have already proved to be way different than last year’s group. For one, we started this year off in the Rosemount dome instead of the beach in Florida. And since softball is a game of adaptations, it was only fitting that we start our year off having to adapt to a new playing surface and a few new rules. We were tested right away with St. Thomas and BV and started a new tradition of finding a way to win close games. At this point, our defense was struggling but our offense and pitching were on fire.

By the time we got to Arizona, we couldn’t keep our excitement in. Maintaining our focus was a test during practice, especially with the pigeon incident right before hand, but somehow we managed to get things accomplished. Overall, as a player, I was happy with our performance in the desert and could chat about the games in further detail but I’ll keep it to a final thought. Although I know we could’ve come home 10-0, there’s no doubt in my mind that those close games will continue to help us respond to future losses and with our tough WIAC conference.

Aside from testing our skills, the trip definitely tested our patience. As I’m sure our parents and coaches can attest to, having 20, 18+ year old girls together for about 24 hours a day for an entire week is no easy task. Add in the mix of coaches, parents, buses not arriving on time, 3 mini vans and coach’s “ghetto ride” for transport and you’re pretty much setting yourself up for chaos. Never the less, I’m proud to say that the trip went relatively glitch and drama free and we’re all still speaking to one another! …although I’m pretty sure this is the first year that someone voluntarily left Robin’s van J

When we got back, we found ourselves back in the gym…weird. Frustrating too, but we managed to find a way to continue to prepare for our “weather permitting” game against #4 ranked Luther. After yet another adaptation of having to travel to Iowa instead of a home opener on Gelein, we were prepared. We knew we had to bring our “A” game, but we also knew that they weren’t going to know what hit them once we arrived. Game one started with us coming out on fire scoring two runs and holding them scoreless in the first. In the 2nd inning we found ourselves victim of the “one bad inning” that softball often presents and were in a 5-2 hole. A stellar performance by freshmen pitcher “Ruegy” kept our hopes alive but we couldn’t get the big hit and found ourselves with a tally in the loss column.

Game two was very similar in a lot of respects. We came out and scored right away as the visiting team and then after inning two, were down 5-1. But with some top notch pitcher defense, errorless defense by the rest of us, a homerun by Jess Freagon (my roommate!) and of course a huge GRAND SLAM by Nikki Bromelkamp (MY OTHER ROOMMATE!!!) and we were up 6-5 with 6 outs to go! After that, we couldn’t be stopped. Emma Wishau dominated the next 2 innings, giving up just two singles to a dominating Luther offense, and we had our 12th win of the season. Easier said than done, I know. But there’s much more than we can take from that 2nd game besides the win.

I want to reflect on the emotion after the Luther game. For those who know me, I’m usually not the most serious of people, but I am a very passionate person and every once in a while I have my moments. Yesterday’s win was one of those times where your personal performance or the score of the first game momentarily didn’t matter. We had just come from 4 runs down, against the #4 ranked team in the country, and we acted like it. Smiles were from ear to ear, hugs were all around and our sense of accomplishment and belief was sky high. We knew that we could do it, but we had just proved it. At that moment, looking around at my teammates, it made me realize once again why we all wear the uniform. You could see the unmistakable love and joy in our faces, the look in our eyes that explains why we take the field every day. We play the game we love, and we truly love the game we play.